...Republican aides were taken aback by what they thought was a lighthearted attempt to signal to Iran and the public that Congress should have a role in the ongoing nuclear discussions. Two GOP aides separately described their letter as a “cheeky” reminder of the congressional branch’s prerogatives.

“The administration has no sense of humor when it comes to how weakly they have been handling these negotiations,” said a top GOP Senate aide.

The author is a resident scholar at AEI, a preeminant GOP think tank. Forgive the misnomer.

Say conservatives have their way with Obamacare, and the Supreme Court deals it a death blow or a Republican president repeals it in 2017. Some people who got health insurance as a result of the Affordable Care Act may lose it. In which case, liberals like to say, some of Obamacare’s beneficiaries may die....

...If these are the stakes, many liberals argue, then ending Obamacare is immoral.

Except, it’s not.

In a world of scarce resources, a slightly higher mortality rate is an acceptable price to pay for certain goals

When this kind of naked economic amorality is floated, we should probably take notice.

Republican incubators of thought; You can't live with 'em. You can only live without 'em

So it's possible that 8 of them wanted to return a true bill? No wonder reporters at McCulloch's soiree kept asking for the jury count. And no wonder that's the shred of secrecy he's still affording to the proceeding.

The victim, 27-year-old Shelley Frey, was allegedly stealing from the store with two other women Tisa Andrews and Yolanda Craig, when they were approached by 26-year law enforcement vet Louis Campbell, the report notes.

The women allegedly ran away to a get away car, pursued by Campbell, who works as a security guard at the store. Campbell opened fire on the car as the women tried to drive away, hitting Frey, a mother of two young children, in the neck, killing her.

That happened a couple of years ago but what I want to highlight is the store policy. From Walmart's statement after this killing:

“We hire off duty officers to provide security to some of our stores. While we have policies in place for our associates to disengage from situations that might put them or others in harm's way, off-duty officers working at a WM store are authorized to act in accordance with their department's code of conduct.”

That reads to me as a green-light for the use of deadly force by some of its part-time employees. So many questions....Why wouldn't all security officers have to abide by the disengagemet policy? At what point did his "code of conduct" even suggest drawing a weapon?

The family sued but I was unable to locate anything about a resolution or even any results of the subsequent investigation.

First lady Michelle Obama is scrapping her plans to deliver a graduation speech for high school seniors in Topeka, Kan., after hundreds signed a petition in protest.

More than 1,750 people had signed a petition protesting the first lady's appearance at the graduation ceremony, angered that security concerns would limit the number of friends and family who could attend.

...

Instead of delivering a graduation speech, Obama will be at the school the day before graduation, and will deliver remarks at a "Senior Recognition Day.".....

"The remarks will celebrate the achievements of the graduating class of high school seniors in Topeka, home of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year," the White House said in a statement.

"I used to live in North Las Vegas and it is home to some of the hardest-working people I have ever met - men and women who embody the American dream by working hard every day to build a better life for themselves and their families. By contrast, Cliven Bundy has spent decades profiting off government land while refusing to pay the same fair use fees as his fellow ranchers. Today, Bundy revealed himself to be a hateful racist. But by denigrating people who work hard and play by the rules while he mooches off public land he also revealed himself to be a hypocrite.

“To advance his extreme, hateful views, Bundy has endangered the lives of innocent women and children. This is not a game. It is the height of irresponsibility for any individual or entity in a position of power or influence to glorify or romanticize such a dangerous individual, and anyone who has done so should come to their senses and immediately condemn Bundy. For their part, national Republican leaders could help show a united front against this kind of hateful, dangerous extremism by publicly condemning Bundy.

“The bottom line is that elected officials and those in positions of power or influence have a responsibility to unite behind the basic principle that we are a country of laws, and that whatever our differences, it is unacceptable for individuals to use violence or the threat of violence to advance their radical views."

If you don't find it fun to keep up with the crazies (I do, a little) or if you don't see value in keeping up with the extreme element so eagerly embraced by the GOP, the following excerpts from a discussion at Teapartyorg.ning.com won't interest you.

Most of our families are diverse and some members earn from us perhaps a little more tolerance for, hmmm, eccentricities than we display generally. But we've learned where to draw our lines, right? Maybe some of you know worse than those quoted below, but hopefully you are few. So there's something for which to be grateful: these Americans (so far) won't be at your table!

the only weapon you have now till the next mid-term election is your wallet. Obama and the Liberals need all of those sales taxes to survive so if you're serious about being a Conservative prove it by conserving your spending habits and bury these Liberals once and for all . Without your sales tax dollars they can't keep giving away their free stuff. Don't you get it by now ?

Imagine trying to explain about sales taxes to Uncle Dan.

And here Juanita shares that she survived a recent close call-

You should have seen how fast the meter man was not in my back yard, and at his truck across the street talking on his phone! I believe in self-defense, and some of us need a little equalizing, Walther style. For about the 30 minutes this was all playing out, my heart was in my throat. I should have let my hound out, but didn't want her hurt.

Pass the potatoes?

Hurricane Sandy postponed the UN meeting in America, that is to decide the fate of our guns... until March. We only have until March to start holding the ones that are allowing the destruction of our country accountable. That is it! The windows are closing... soon.

OK, ok, ok, I hear ya; Cuzin Leslie Rose might be fun.

Oh wait, no she won't be-

Thomas Jefferson proved that a lot of full - Blacks can not be brought up to higher standards... mentally. He loved black people and tried very hard to educate them and change their thinking. There are books written that have proven a lot of blacks operate at an IQ of only 70... which means they are mildly retarded. I like black people very much. They are the ones that will anyone on the streets that needs help... even before a white man will. The only problem is they can be influenced so easily... and by nature are lazy. In America... most black men were raised without Father's... due to the Gov encouraging women to have kids... and not have the fathers around... or their benefits are cut off. This has lead to a major crisis in America. That is why our jails are full of black men.
And... by the way... in jail is where these black men are being recruited to convert to the muslim faith. If you convert... you receive better food and treatment... and more. Then they are released back into the population. Talk about a huge problem that has been growing for years now! This is why we have to back Cain... West and all the other "Good" black men. This is also why they had to shoot Cain and West down... and many other Good Black men! They can't afford to lose what they have carefully cultivated. If the blacks knew they were being played by the commie white man... they would flip back over real quick!

Yeah, half way through the first sentence and we're remembering a can of soup in the cabinet at home that's sounding so good we can't find the car keys fast enough.

They get offended -offended- when it is suggested that racism is rampant in the tea party, but from the same discussion-

In answer to your first question about why Blacks stay with the Democrats. I sincerely believe that it's because they are a stupid race of people. I know, I sound racist, but that's the way I feel. Their stupidity is demonstrated by their "culture" of improper English shuck & Jive talk; wearing pants with the crack of their butts showing; flashing gang signs; shooting up neighborhoods; demeaning any other Black kid who wants to get an education; not understanding that if you want to get ahead that you have to stop acting like an idiot, and having a racist attitude. Oh sure, there is that 5 % who break out of the Black "culture" mode, but the majority of Blacks seem to want to function at a lower level of society, and then complain about prejudice against them. If any particular group of people function on the level of gross stupidity, why would anyone with brain consider them to be anything but stupid? i.e.: Bill Cosby always tells it like it is. To bad most Blacks are too stupid to listen.

Quintessential racism with a Kapital KK. Fools and racists. And who is in charge?-

...Announce at your Thanksgiving dinner table that you have joined the Founders Party. Simply sit back and watch what happens. Don't worry about answering questions...my mother still asks me "Who runs the Tea Party." I simply smile and say "We do."

It was at one of Jay's Town Hall's that Joe Wilson first publicly aspired to see Rove frog marched out of the White House.

It was August 2003. I was there and wrote about it-

...Jay Inslee put together a panel in his district to discuss Iraq and former ambassador Wilson was on it. Someone yelled out that they enjoyed him on the Daily Show -he said he had enjoyed doing it.

But my BIG news....One of the questions for him was about his wife and whether there is an investigation about that. He couched his answer in a hypothetical-

(I paraphrase until the last part)

"If that had happened and she isn't an agent, she would have much explaining to do to friends and business associates. It would be very inconvenient and could be seen as an intimidation of others who might speak in dissent toward the admin.

Were it true, lives could be put at risk. Were it true, there would be first an internal examination by the CIA- I assure you there are many professionals there that know what they are doing.

The FBI would then investigate- Even though Ashcroft is the AG, there are many professionals there as well. In that case, I would surely offer to be of any assistance to them that I could be.

Trust me when I say, nothing would please me more than seeing Karl Rove frog marched out of the White House in handcuffs -and when I use that name, I've measured my words"

The bold part is nearly verbatim -I wrote it down as soon as he said it. ROVE.

“They ran a 20th century campaign in the 21st century,” said one Romney bundler, frustrated that the campaign made assumptions about the youth vote and voter intensity that didn’t pan out. “The anger is that they were entrusted to do certain things. It’s not like they were paid a $5,000 retainer to get a few dozen articles in an inside-the-Beltway paper. This is the major leagues.”

So, get an operative on retainer for $5K, who then somehow convinces a paper to run a favored piece, maybe send some talkers out on cable to advance the theme and you're half way to designing reality.

That was working really well for wealthy conservatives over the last decade or so. We watched it again and again. I just never realized how cheaply it could be done. At any rate, that whole racket may have ended. No wonder they're furious!

Here, Tomasky's theory offers one explanation:

...But then at some point, the majority of Americans stopped buying conservative bullshit. It must have been after Iraq. And Katrina. But now, conservatives can't make surrealities come true just by saying so.

The catch is that big chunks of the media haven't caught up with the public. So, even though conservatives complain that reporters are liberal, and even though many may in fact be, most reporters also just kind of assume that conservatives, who come from the heartland and the South and speaking in American accents and tend to have gone to more proletarian kinds of universities, must surely have a firmer grasp of the American pulse.

They most certainly do not. But reporters assume they do, and they buy conservatives' spin. And so up to Election Day, many mainstream reporters bought the idea that the race was tight as a tick. But it never was. Never. It was pretty close for about 12 days, from Oct. 3 to Oct. 15 or so. Then it wasn't again.